Tom was Frank's replacement as the new
police Sargeant in Wandin Valley. He had originally
arrived with his wife, Allison, but she returned to
Sydney after her miscarriage because she wanted a career,
not a family. This devastated Tom because he wanted a
family more than anything because his own childhood was
so bad. His father died in Vietnam when Tom was young and
his mother put him into foster care and never returned
for him. His childhood was horrible and included sexual
abuse in a foster home he was in. He had a very strong
character, though, and the abuse and neglect just made
him more determined not to let it happen to another
child. He even changed his surname from Lamb to Newman
(as in "new man"). Tom's mother showed up in
the Valley -- she was a political figure and showed
herself as truly self-centred when she again sacrificed
Tom's needs and desires for her own gain.

He
developed an interest in Anna Lacey and developed a genuine
fondness for her nephew Billy. Over the months, she grew
to be fond of him as well. He had a tough time working up
the courage to ask her to marry him -- he ended up
proposing rather offhandedly in the middle of the road
and she answered yes just as casually. Neither one really
paid attention to the connotations of that conversation
and they started to drive away in opposite directions
before both realized what had just happened. They were
married on Christmas Eve, with Bernice presiding over the full
wedding. Unfortunately, Bernice's celebrant license
hadn't been approved yet and Tom and Anna were forced to
get married a second time on Christmas Day, with only the
Reverend Michaels, Hugo, and Billy in attendance.
They discovered that they dare not risk having any
children of their own because Anna was a carrier of a
form of muscular dystrophy that affects only boys. Both
of them were upset by the news. In late 1993, Anna
accidentally got pregnant but thankfully the baby was a
girl, who would be a carrier like Anna but would not be
afflicted with the disease.